The Simond Showdown: Reviewing Men’s and Women’s Simond MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jackets

Fall is here and winter is just around the corner. Living in any cold-weather climate poses chilly conditions, but it’s how you dress for it that can keep you warm or make you miserable.

Andy and I tested the Men’s Simond MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jacket and Women’s Simond MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jacket to see if they stand up to cold and blustery weather. Will this little-known brand (at least here in the U.S.) with value-minded price points entice new customers? Or will it turn them away if they assume their products aren’t made from quality materials because of them? We wear his-n-hers Simond MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jackets as a standalone piece as well as a mid-layer to see for ourselves.

The Simond Brand

If you’ve never heard of Simond, perhaps you have of Forclaz. Parent company Decathlon offers many labels, including Simond and Forclaz but it’s getting rid of the Forclaz name. The company is merging Forclaz products into Simond, a well-known name in many parts of the world for gear relating to mountain sports. Forclaz is known for trekking equipment, like the Decathlon Forclaz Men’s MT900 50+10L Ultralight Backpacking Pack we reviewed in 2023 and since have taken around the world with us. They’ll soon be one combined name under the Decathlon umbrella of brands.

Simond Men’s MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jacket

The Simond Men’s MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jacket contains a filler of 90% grey duck down and 10% grey duck feathers. My husband, Andy, wears a size medium in this puffy and it weighs just over 4.9 ounces (140 grams). The main fabric is 100% polyester with the lining being 100% polamide.

The men’s MT500 version showcases two hand pockets and one exterior zippered chest pocket, barely big enough to stash your smartphone. However, the men’s iteration does not have an inside zipper pocket. Though it has two open square-shaped pouches on the jacket’s inside. The Simond Men’s MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jacket is roomy and fits well, especially when doing outdoor activities.

The Down Low on the Men’s MT500 Down

The Simond Men’s MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jacket boasts a down fill power of 800 CUIN (cubic inches). Note: Fill power is a statistic that indicates the relative quality of down. A specific lab test measures how many cubic inches of loft a single ounce of a specific type of down fill produces. Higher fill power indicates greater loft and insulation properties. Keep in mind that a specific down fill power number doesn’t tell you how warm a jacket will be because other factors affect that, including how much of the down fill comprises the insulation of the jacket. Jackets with a higher fill power (in other words, the higher the CUIN number is) will occupy more space, trap more air, and provide increased thermal insulation.

Andy’s Thoughts

“My initial impressions of the Simond Men’s MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jacket are that it’s lightweight and very comfortable.” He loves the Petrol Blue (aka dark teal) color with orange zipper accents. “This mid-weight jacket feels warm and well made, especially for the $179.00 price point. It has generously sized hand pockets, a small breast pocket, two internal pouch-style pockets, and an adjustable hood. It also fits me just right,” he added. “Additionally, the jacket packs down into an included stuff sack, which, when not in use, easily stows in an internal pocket.”

Andy also really likes the easy-to-use zipper pull. “I did have the left hand outside pocket catch on some fabric while putting my phone away. But so far, that’s the only negative.”

Decathlon recommends customers wear a waterproof jacket over the MT500 models during prolonged exposure to rain. The MT500 jacket’s fabric is made water-repellent by treating its outer surface, but that property can deteriorate with use. They recommend wearers restore them after each wash.

Price: $179.00

Simond Women’s MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jacket

My Ash Blue Simond Women’s MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jacket fits me like a glove and accentuates a woman’s body lines more than the boxy men’s style. It also is a bit longer in length, with a longer tail to cover more of the backside. My size large sample weighs 5.1 ounces.

Same as Andy’s, the women’s MT500 down puffy feels well made for its approachable price point. It also has several well thought-out details, like how the zipper finishes at the bottom of the jacket (with a carefully angled-sewn interior storm flap), along with a soft fleece neck liner. One would think these types of touches would lend themselves to a higher price tag.

The Simond Men’s MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jacket, as well as the women’s iteration includes 800 CUIN down and feather filling. They both have 90% grey duck down and 10% grey duck feathers, too. Materials are the same type for the rest of both garments.

The women’s MT500 is rated as comfortable in temps as cold as 32°F down to 14°F, though we’ve not tested them in that cold of weather—yet. Stay tuned, more cold-weather impressions in a later article.

Price: $179.00

MT500 Similarities but Differences

Decathlon’s website states, “This padded [women’s] jacket, worn as a 3rd layer, is certified for an active comfort temperature of 14°F in a thermal chamber test. During testing, the model wore a synthetic long-sleeve shirt and light fleece, simulating a 3 MPH wind. In a static mode test, its comfort temperature was 32°F.” The same was said about the men’s MT500 version.

Whereas the men’s MT500 has an exterior-facing zippered breast pocket, the women’s zippered pocket is on the inside. Both jackets have two zippered hand pockets, as well as two open non-zippered inside pockets at the base of the hem. The men’s and women’s MT500 also have soft-lined collars and inner pocket details.

The jacket design is different on each, with the men’s being boxier and standard whereas the women’s is shapely and longer. The down dispersion is also different, with the women’s quilting showcased in an attractive V shape while the men’s is straight across horizontally. The men’s MT500 is also offered in a hoodless design for $149.00, but that isn’t the case for the women’s MT500. Gals get hoods alone.

Summing Up His-N-Hers MT500 Puffy Jackets

Both Simond MT500 jackets are compressible and lightweight. They can be worn as standalone pieces during chilly fall or warmer winter days. Additionally, waterproof slickers can be worn atop of them in case of inclement wet or windy weather.

Both jackets packs into their own supplied storage bag. From far away the exteriors looks like solid colors. But up close, they boast a subtle tone-on-tone gridded pattern. Both MT500 hooded down jackets are treated with a water repellant finish and are also abrasion resistant.

So far we’ve tested the Simond MT500 jackets from low 60s to about 45 degrees. They’ve seen full sunshine, light rain and wind. They have been comfortably warm and dry. However, Decathlon’s website states these jackets are suitable for weather that’s colder, depending on what you’re doing while wearing them. Time will tell as we travel across the country to Wisconsin from Oregon over the holidays and subject them to freezing temperatures and more.

Seeing is Believing

While we’ve had the men’s and women’s Decathlon Simond MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jacket for little while, we’re eager to get them into real winter temps, which will happen soon enough. However, we’re both impressed with the high quality and comfort the MT500 jackets have given us—especially for the price. They’ve quickly become our go-to puffies for a variety of activities. The Simond MT500 Hooded Down Puffer Jacket should be considered for a solid stand-alone jacket, even if it’s from a little-known company that’s popular in Europe and other parts of the world but has yet to catch on in the United States.

Photos of men’s MT500: Mercedes Lilienthal. Photos of the women’s MT500: Andy Lilienthal.